Author: reporter

OKLAHOMA CITY — With frustration and anger. That is how Aaron Gordon reacted to Nikola Jokic fouling out in the third period for the first time in his career. That it came in Game 2 of the second round against the top-seeded Thunder made it even more exasperating. “They are calling the second foul almost all of the time. They are fouling Joker first. You know Jok is reactionary and they do get the second guy a lot of the times. But they are fouling him throughout the game — point blank. Period,”  Gordon said as the locker room emptied…

OKLAHOMA CITY — Deep into an increasingly meaningless third quarter Wednesday, Nikola Jokic and company remained on the floor and failed to put any sort of dent into a deficit that was already 31 at halftime. The Nuggets fell behind by an additional 10 points by the time Jokic fouled out and interim coach David Adelman pulled the plug on his last remaining starter, Jamal Murray, at the 1:03 mark of the quarter. A Game 2 fate that was already sealed hadn’t come any closer to being magically reversed. The feeling that Denver was “punked,” as Adelman described it, had…

OKLAHOMA CITY — Loud City is not Fraud City. Every Thunder had a basket Wednesday night, save for the Broncos mascot. “We got punked,” Nuggets coach David Adelman admitted after the 149-106 drubbing. “We are not going to flush that. We have to be better.” If the series opener was a referendum on the Thunder’s inexperience, Game 2 was validation of its season. Oklahoma City is equipped with stars and a bench deeper than a Tolstoy novel. This is a team of spectacular opulence. So why, after demonstrated excellence, do they have such a punchable face? Racing out to 87…

Trustees of the Eastern Star Masonic Retirement Community in southeast Denver are looking to sell the property after an explosion shuttered part of the campus this spring, though officials say the move is years in the making. Eastern Star’s governing board announced the decision Tuesday on Facebook, describing it as an “extremely hard and reluctant decision” that was not based solely on the March 12 explosion and fire that critically injured at least seven people when construction workers hit a power line in the Robert Russell building. The explosion displaced 87 residents in assisted-living and memory-care units, who still had…

By CARLA K. JOHNSON, AP Medical Writer A combination shot for flu and COVID-19 using messenger RNA generated antibodies in a study, but U.S. government regulators want to see data on whether the new vaccine protects people from getting sick. Researchers from vaccine-maker Moderna reported in a study published Wednesday that the new combo shot generated a stronger immune response against COVID-19 and most strains of flu than existing standalone shots in people 50 and older. Side effects were injection site pain, fatigue and headaches. Moderna previously reported a summary of the results from the company-sponsored trial in 8,000 people.…

The Colorado General Assembly enters its final day of the 2025 session Wednesday after a late-night scramble in the House over artificial intelligence regulations. That debacle aside, lawmakers will work to finish up final votes and procedural work before adjourning by the end of the day. This story will be updated throughout the day. 1:04 p.m. update: The House accepted the Senate’s changes to House Bill 1291, the ride-hailing regulations bill for Uber and Lyft. Rep. Jenny Willford, a sponsor, delivered a pointed speech urging Gov. Jared Polis to sign the bill. Polis on Tuesday expressed “significant legal and policy…

By LISA MASCARO and AMANDA SEITZ WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans appear to be backing off some, but not all, of the steep reductions to the Medicaid program as part of their big tax breaks bill, as they run into resistance from more centrist GOP lawmakers opposed to ending nearly-free health care coverage for their constituents back home. This is as a new report out Wednesday from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that millions of Americans would lose Medicaid coverage under the various proposals being circulated by Republicans as cost-saving measures. House Republicans are scrounging to come up with…

A 19-year-old man could spend the rest of his life in prison after the woman shot in a bus terminal near Union Station last week died from her injuries. Jakiem Whitham faces seven felony charges in the death of 19-year-old Ileana Hernandez, including first-degree murder after deliberation, first-degree murder with extreme indifference, attempted first-degree murder after deliberation, attempted first-degree murder with extreme indifference, second-degree assault with a deadly weapon, menacing with a weapon and using a prohibited large-capacity magazine, according to court records. Hernandez was shot in the neck while riding an escalator descending into the Regional Transportation District’s Chestnut…

Joe Sakic has experienced plenty of exhilarating highs in nearly four decades as part of the Colorado Avalanche, but he’s also no stranger to the feeling permeating through the organization right now. The Avs were Stanley Cup contenders when they woke up Saturday morning. The season was over before they went to sleep. And it all came crashing down stunningly with a Game 7 collapse at the hands of Mikko Rantanen and the Dallas Stars. “It hurts right now. This one stings,” Sakic said Tuesday at Colorado’s end-of-season press conference. “I’m not going to lie to you. You go into…

Dozens of former federal workers and concerned citizens gathered at the state Capitol’s west steps on Tuesday to urge state officials to support those affected by ongoing and upcoming federal cuts and layoffs. “This experience of suddenly being terminated, along with thousands of people across America, has forced many of us to reflect on something deeper, how fragile our country feels right now and how uncertain our paths are going forward,” said Susan Abbott, a recently fired federal worker for the U.S. Agency for International Development, which oversees humanitarian, development and security programs in about 120 countries. Abbott said she…